How to build a low to the ground deck.

Hello again ... we are back !

 Today's topic:  How to build a low to the ground deck. 

On this deck project in Macomb Township Michigan our client had a older stamped concrete patio that cracked and shifted, they wanted to switch to a deck. They have a pretty narrow lot and there was not a lot of room to easily get equipment back to remove all of the bad stamped concrete. So we left the patio and just cut out 2'x 2' squares out the patio to install the four post hole footings that are about 5'6" off the house. The other four post hole footings are outside of the old patio so there was no extra work needed to install them.

A big factor in low to the ground decks is cross ventilation, so the underside of the deck can get some air movement to dry out any moisture on the underside of the decking or framing.


Another factor is having room for the framing so that it avoids ground contact.


 Let's get to some pictures to help explain this project. Here in the first couple of pictures we pick up in progress framing this deck project.

You can see the carpenters installing the deck joist. Notice the existing old stamped concrete patio underneath the deck. We have already cut out the concrete and installed the post hole footings, the 4x6 treated posts, and the double 2x10 beams. Notice there is not much clearance below the joists, certainly not enough to have drop beam under the joist how most decks are built. If you look at the outside beam it is under the joists because it is outside of the patio.

Middle rim joist deck beam

Standard (dropped) deck beam

So the only choice here for the middle beam is to have it at the joist height. It is done the exact same way as a drop beam only the joist are all supported by joist hangers. This middle beam works only because we have a ledger attachment everywhere except where the fireplace chimney is located. We have engineered plans that allows us to attach to a cantilevered bay and through a brick veneer for spans under 6'

Here above is a picture of the proper way to flash the cantilevered bay. The siding and trim has to be removed and the deck ledger must be attached to the bay not as much for loading but for lateral support and so you flash the ledger. We use a pre-formed plastic ledger flashing that runs about 3" behind the siding and over the ledger. I cannot tell of how many times I have seen deck ledger installed over house siding where water debris will just sit and promote decay and rot. It is not that much more work to do it right even if you not attaching the ledger to the house as the saying goes water wins that is why there is a grand canyon.

 Another point on this job is we have a fireplace chimney in our deck area that the code requires us to leave a 1" gap between the deck framing and the masonry fireplace chimney. Here we beamed around the fireplace because there is not any way to attached to a fireplace on this side is supported by the dual joist, and the other side there is a 4x6 support post. 

I will have another update on this project in a few days.

Thanks for reading ... I hope we can help inspire you with your outdoor living construction projects !

Michigan deck builders

Deck designs from 2013 - Adding flair to a square deck.

Well it is Mid-January 2014 and we have had a hard winter here in Michigan so far ! But the deck building season is quickly approaching.  We are going to look back at some of the deck designs we did in 2013. Starting with adding flair to a square deck. 

Hopefully we can inspire you on your new outdoor living projects for 2014 !  

 A basic square deck design has many benefits  -

   1)  Cost / Waste: These two go hand and hand with decking lengths at 12', 16' & 20' ... Railings at 6' and 8' lengths... Framing lengths from 8' - 20'  Designing around these sizes will have many benefits !

  2)  Space: Obviously a square deck design is going to give you the most space.

  3) Footings/framing: Ease of construction labor time/cost is a big benefit.

 How to spice up a simple square deck design.

Octagon Bay

Here is a deck and patio project in Clarkston MI.

The layout of the house kind of dictated a simple square deck design. What we did to the design to add a little flair was to add a corner bay which creates a octagon effect.


Another nice feature about this deck design is the way the stairs wrap around the deck which keeps them out of site and away from the main outdoor space.

Here is another new construction deck project in Clarkston MI

 

 Before picture -










 Center Bay


 This is a simple square deck design, but with a center triple angled bay to add a little flair to the design. This deck only has two main support post and a engineered beam carries the span between the beam which is a nice feature with a walkout basement underneath the deck. The stairs on the deck design were changed by the homeowner to a single stair case.

Cut Corners

Troy MI deck project
Here is another simple square deck design with double cut corners with the stairs coming off the cut corner. The basic idea is just to spice up a simple square deck design with the double cut corner.

 Deck builders in Michigan, Michigan deck designs, Michigan decks !

Thanks for reading !

Rochester Hills Composite Deck Construction

Hello Bloggers !


 Today we just closed out the first month of 2013 and business is already picking up, spring is just around the corner ! The Michigan Deck Building season usually starts up in March so we have a little time to keep updating our blog. Today we are going to review a Rochester Hills composite deck project.

 This is a Timber Tech Evolution Rosewood deck with black Timber Tech Radiance Rail.

 Here is the deck design pictures

This composite deck is 13' x 36' with a 2' bay that matches the house door wall bay. There is a double center seam board that splits the deck in two sections to allow the 16' & 20' deck boards to span without butt seams.

 Here you can see the decking has been installed except for the picture frame border. I have mentioned this many times in previous blog posts one of the main keys in building a deck is the picture frame border. Which when it is done right will protect the gap of the fascia/framing materials. Because the fascia board underneath the border board.

See the picture below how the picture frame border hides or protects the fascia that is underneath, kind of a drip edge effect.

 Here Paulie is working on installing the deck railings - Timber Tech Radiance Rail on the bay. The Radiance Rail has been on the market for better then seven years and it is still the nicest synthetic deck railing that is on the market. It is better made, nicer looking, and much stronger then the Trex Transcends rail or any of the other synthetic manufactures railings.

 Here you can see the bay once the railing is completed.

Here is a picture from the underside of the deck focusing on the stair stringers. You can see how we attached our stringers to the deck rim. We drop another rim board underneath the upper rim, bolting them together and strapping the stringers to the lower rim board.

 Here we are still working on the railings and the next steps is to install the fascia's on the deck and stairs. This set of steps has a mid-point platform that allows us to turn the steps ninety degrees back towards the house and the garage for ease of egress for the homeowner.

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Here is finished look of the stairs from the deck.










Here is a close up of our signature triple stack fascia, again let me first point out how the fascia is dropped underneath the picture frame border. This picture shows where the stair fascia butts into the deck fascia, and how we cut little returns on the different tiers of the fascia and glue. You can see the blocks holding the returns in place.

 Here is the outside finished look of the stairs, notice how the stair fascia ends nicely into the triple stack fascia and they are at just about the same depth.

Here a little close up picture of the bay and the triple stack deck fascia.

 Thanks for reading our blog !

Composite deck construction in Michigan

Oakland Township MI composite deck

Hello again .. we have really been behind in updating our blog, I have to apologize !

 I am hoping to go back to our weekly post.

Today we are going to look at a Timber Tech Evolutions cap composite deck we built last year. Here is the framing plan on the left along with a 3D design. We matched the old deck layout except where the old deck had a step down octagon. The homeowner wanted the new deck all on the same level so we did a two tone picture frame border and we wrapped the border around the octagon to add a design focal point to the octagon area on one level. The old deck was cedar and needed to be updated so the client wanted a synthetic deck with much lower maintenance then the cedar deck. We recommended Timber Tech Evolutions for a high grade cap composite that is durable, Evolutions has a 25 year fade and stain warranty which is outstanding.

Here in the picture on the right we just finished up installing the Timber Tech Evolutions Teak decking and the two tone Teak/Walnut border and octagon inlay. The border/inlay really gives the deck some interest and the octagon inlay gives a distinction to this area which was a step down in the old deck. The decking is installed with Timber Tech Concealoc hidden fastening clips, and the borders are screwed down with color matching stainless steel Headcotes.

Once we finish the decking/borders we move onto the railing post which we cut out holes to set the treated 4x4 posts thru and then we attach with 3) 8" Thrulok bolts. You can see this in the small picture above where two members of the crew are laying out and cutting in posts. Once the 4x4 rail support posts are install we move to installing the triple stack fascia. Here in the picture on the right the 4x4 post and the Radiance rail sleeves have been installed along with the triple stack fascia. The triple stack fascia is our standard fascia detail that we use to hide all the frame work it start just below the beam level and stacks out from there.

This hides all the frame work except the posts. The other main detail is that the border cover over the fascia so no water will enter the frame/fascia gap which is a hugely important detail that most all other builders leave out.

One last detail we do is to trim out the flashing on the deck. The deck flashing is cut into the brick which had to be above the decking level to hit a mortar joint. We covered the flashing with a rip off a XLM Walnut Groove deck board again to hide the Z flashing that was cut into the brick veneer above the decking level to protect the ledger from water intrusion. 

                                      

Here we move onto the stairs and railings, the treads and risers are all screwed down with the Headcotes. The railings are Timber Tech Radiance rail in the Traditional Walnut color with Bronze colored Deckorators Aluminum balusters, we also used their decorative centerpieces. With baskets on each side of the centerpiece with a center layout for each rail section.

The last step was installing the Trex low voltage lighting on the rail

post

All finished up !

 Deck builders in Michigan

 Thanks for reading !